Birthday Surprise
by Bryan Greenberg
Summary: Rory gets a not so happy surprise for her birthday and has to cope with a little help from Logan, Colin, and Finn. PDLD
1. Happy Birthday?

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

**Things you should know before reading this story:**

Rory met Logan, Colin, and Finn freshman year.

They're all really good friends but she hasn't dated any of them…yet.

This is her junior year.

Warning: this story includes a VERY weird UC, but it isn't the main couple of the story

**Ch. 1- Happy Birthday?**

Rory couldn't believe she had let her father disappoint her again. She knew she shouldn't have gotten her hopes up, but when her father told her he wanted to have dinner with her for her 21st birthday she couldn't help but be excited. She had never seen her father on her birthday. She had been sitting waiting at the restaurant when he called telling her that he couldn't make it. Her little sister Gigi was sick and the nanny had the day off. She sighed. Her father had been doing this her whole life, and she wasn't going to let it ruin her birthday.

She smiled thinking about the "surprise" party her best friends Finn, Logan, and Colin were throwing for her that evening. Finn had been looking forward to getting her drunk legally for the first time all month. It was going to be a great birthday even with her father flaking yet again.

She put her key into the door of the apartment she shared with Paris. She hadn't expected to come home before going to her party, but, since her father had flaked, she decided to eat something quick here before heading over to the boys' apartment. She had an hour to kill before she was expected.

Her breath caught in her throat as she entered her apartment and recognized the man standing in her living room in his boxers. "Dad?" she whispered as tears formed in the corner of her eyes.

"Hey what if Rory comes…" Paris stopped short as she saw her roommate standing in their living room in shock. Rory looked back and forth between the two half-dressed people in front of her. Paris was wearing only Chris's blue button down shirt.

"I need to go…" Rory started before running into the bathroom and throwing up. She brushed her teeth with shaking hands then walked back into the bathroom where neither Paris nor her father had moved.

"This is why you skipped my birthday dinner?" she asked, pain strangling her voice. "No," she said as she saw Chris start to speak, "I don't want to hear it. I'm going to by birthday party. I don't want to talk to either of you." She walked out the door and headed towards the boys' apartment despite the fact that she was early.

She walked into Finn, Logan, and Colin's apartment a half an hour early. It looked as though the party had started already; since she was early the guests didn't recognize her arrival and she was able to head to the bar unnoticed. She really needed a drink.

She noticed Finn was at the bar mixing drinks, and she approached him. "Hey mister," she said, "Nice party."

"You're early love," he responded, "We knew you knew about the party, but you could at least come at the right time and pretend to be surprised."

"Sorry," she said trying to give him a smile.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing," she responded, "I just need a drink stat."

"No," he said.

"Are you telling me _you're _refusing me a drink on my 21st birthday?" she tried to joke with him.

"You know my policy about drinking when you're upset, love," he said. Finn loved his alcohol, but he was very strict about using it to deal with emotions. "Come on," he said steering her towards his room as he noticed tears filling up her eyes. Logan and Colin had noticed them by now and looked at him curiously. He just shrugged and led her into his room closing the door behind him.

They sat on his bed and he asked, "What's wrong Rory? Did your dad not show up?" The guys didn't like Chris. They had seen Rory hurt to much by his broken promises and had been worried about how excited Rory had been for this dinner.

Rory gave a strangled laugh. She longed for when that was her biggest problem. She began to sob, and Finn pulled her into his arms. "Dad…Paris…boxers," she tried to explain to Finn what had happened.

Finn's eyes widened and he pulled her closer. "Are you telling me…" he began.

"Sex," Rory managed to get out and sobbed harder into Finn's shoulder. Finn didn't say anything else. He just held her closer and rubbed her back gently. Inside he was fuming. Chris had gone way too far this time.

Slowly Rory's sobs subsided and her breathing evened out. She had fallen asleep. He laid her gently on the bed and tucked her into the covers. He left the room turning off the lights and closing the door behind him.

The apartment was empty. It seemed as though, when they hadn't emerged for an hour, Logan and Colin had sent everyone away. They looked at him as he entered the room.

"What happened?" Colin asked.

"Her dad," Finn responded. Neither Logan nor Colin looked surprised. "I don't know the whole story, but apparently he had sex with Paris," he continued. This did shock both guys.

"Seriously?" asked Logan, "On her birthday?"

Finn just nodded and said, "I think we should call Lorelai. Rory's going to need her." The other two nodded their agreement, and Finn took out his phone and dialed Lorelai's cell. All three boys were close to Lorelai. She was like a surrogate mom.

"Finnykins!" Lorelai answered, "Is my girl drunk yet?"

"No, Lorelai," Finn said, "I think you should get down here."

"Is she ok?" Lorelai asked worriedly.

"Physically, yes," Finn responded, "It's just. She found out her dad had sex with Paris. I don't know the whole story, but it sounds like she walked in on something. I'm assuming he didn't meet her for dinner."

"Shit," Lorelai said knowing how excited Rory had been to see her father on her birthday, "I'll kill him. Wait, you mean walked in on _something_?"

"I don't think anything like that," Finn responded, "She mentioned the word boxers though."

"I'm on my way," Lorelai said, "Does she want to talk to me now?"

"She fell asleep," Finn said, "She was crying pretty hard. I'll let her know you're on the way if she wakes up."

"Thanks for calling Finn," Lorelai said, "You're a good friend. Damn him for doing this on her birthday." She hung up without waiting for a response.

"She's on her way," Finn told Logan and Colin and headed back towards his room to make sure she was ok. He looked at the sleeping girl protectively and thought, _God I love her. Whoa where did that come from? I love her? Shit, I do. Great timing, Finn. Bloody brilliant. That's exactly what she needs right now. Her stupid friend falling in love with her. I'm such an idiot. I'll just have to ignore it. I know she doesn't feel the same, and I can't lose her friendship._ He assured himself that she was ok for now and closed her in his room again. Now that he realized how he felt he was determined to suppress it. What she needed right now was his friendship.


	2. Watchdogs

Disclaimer: My stories are a little too silly to actually be on the show. Clearly I do not own it.

**Ch. 2- Watchdogs**

Lorelai had been in the diner when Finn called, and Luke had been emphatically gesturing to his no cell phones sign until he heard her ask if Rory was ok. He waited impatiently for Lorelai to hang up so he could ask what was going on. One-sided conversations aren't very informative.

After she hung up, Lorelai began gathering her things and mumbling profanities under her breath. "Lorelai," Luke said grabbing her arm, "Is something wrong with Rory?" Lorelai looked up and saw the concern in Luke's eyes. It made her even angrier at Chris. Luke could teach him a thing or two about being a father.

She sighed and said, "Just her father breaking her heart again. Apparently Chris decided having sex with Paris was much more important than meeting his daughter for her birthday."

Luke's eyes went wide and he asked, "Paris as in Rory's roommate? Chris had sex with his daughter's roommate?" He couldn't even imagine anyone doing something so hurtful to Rory let alone her own father.

Lorelai just nodded. "I have to go," she said, "Finn said she fell asleep so maybe I can get there before she wakes up."

"Hang on one second," Luke said and ran up to his apartment appearing two minutes later with a thermos and filling it with coffee.

Lorelai was beyond touched. She gave him a quick kiss on the lips and whispered, "Thanks," before grabbing the coffee and heading out the door.

When Lorelai got in the car and on the highway she pulled out her phone and dialed Chris. "Hey Lore," he answered nervously, "How's it going?"

"Don't you 'how's it going?' me you jackass," she spat, "How could you do this to your daughter. It's her goddamn birthday. I don't care who you fuck, Chris, but you will not break my daughter's heart."

"Our daughter," Chris corrected quietly realizing he shouldn't have said it as soon as the words left his mouth.

Lorelai snorted. "Well you should have thought about that when you were fucking her roommate when you were supposed to be having dinner with her on her _birthday_. I hope it was at least a good lay. I hope it was worth breaking Rory's heart."

"It wasn't about sex, Lorelai. I love her," he whispered.

Lorelai hung up her phone. She could not deal with this right now. She could yell at Chris later. Right now she needed to focus on driving so she could get to her daughter in one piece. The last thing Rory needed was her mother in the hospital.

As she parked and headed towards the guys' apartment, Lorelai realize she had never before made it to New Haven that quickly. She walked right in knowing the guys wouldn't have the door locked when they were there. She didn't acknowledge the guys other than to follow Finn's finger pointing towards his room.

She opened the door quietly and glanced at her daughter sleeping restlessly. She sighed and closed the door behind her taking a seat at Finn's desk, thermos of coffee in her hand, to wait for Rory to wake up.

"Coffee?" Rory mumbled waking up about three minutes later.

Lorelai gave a small laugh. "Girl after my own heart," she said handing Rory the thermos she was holding, "Sent straight to you from Luke."

Rory gave a sad smile as she poured coffee and began drinking. "Everybody knows?" she asked.

Lorelai nodded. "Not the whole story, but the general idea. Everyone's worried about you kid. You've got three watchdogs sitting out there. You want to tell me what exactly happened sweets?"

Rory gave a little shudder but nodded. "Ok," she said, her voice small, "I was at the restaurant when Dad called. He said Gigi was sick and that he couldn't come. I was upset, but it's not like I could say something to that excuse. I almost felt guilty for being mad at him for not coming you know? I was going to be ok though. I wasn't going to let him mess up my birthday. I've had plenty of birthdays without him. I didn't feel like eating in the restaurant alone so I figured I would go back to my apartment and eat something since I still had an hour before the party. And then I walked in… and there he was… my dad standing in my living room in his boxers. And any moment of denial I may have had was destroyed by Paris entering in his shirt. It was awful. I threw up." Rory had begun to cry again.

"Oh, babe," Lorelai said hugging her, "I'm so sorry."

"Why would he do that mom?" she cried, "Paris is crazy and she's my roommate and it's my birthday. I mean its weird enough that he would do that with her, but he was in New Haven on my birthday and he didn't even consider spending time with me. Why couldn't he just be my dad for once in my life?"

"I don't know babe," Lorelai said stroking her hair, "I wish I could tell you why he did it. I wish you had a better dad."

"I think I need to wallow, Mommy," Rory said wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Ok," Lorelai said, "We'll send one of those boys out there to get us some supplies. I bet they'd even join us in the wallow."

Rory gave a watery smile, "Yeah, they're great friends." Mother and daughter walked out of Finn's room and approached the guys who were sitting nervously and talking quietly.

"Hey guys," Rory said and the turned around. She hugged Finn and whispered, "Thanks for not letting me get drunk." He just nodded and kissed her forehead.

"Ok, boys," Lorelai said, "Who wants to go get our wallowing supplies? We need lots of candy, especially chocolate, and ice cream and coffee and we need to order a pizza. Plus we need at least three hard core chick flicks."

"I can call Frank, and he can pick up everything," Logan offered, "We just need to give him a specific list of all the food and movies."

"Great," Lorelai said, "Then I'll order the pizzas, Rory will make the list, and the wallowing will begin. You boys want to join us?"

The guys all agreed, and, within a half hour, they were settled on the couch with a spread of food in front of them and _The Way We Were_ in the DVD player. Rory had unconsciously moved herself into Finn's arms. He held onto her and inhaled shakily. _Oh, God, she smells like coffee_, he thought, _that's so sexily her._ _No, bad Finn. She is just your best friend who you're comforting._ He was interrupted from his thoughts by a knock on the door.

"It's probably pizza," Lorelai said, "Boy, go get the pizza."

"Boy?" Colin asked.

"Well, I don't care which one of you goes, but its certainly not going to be one of us."

"Not Finn either," Rory said snuggling closer, "He's my pillow."

Colin rolled his eyes and went to open the door. "How much do we owe?" he asked before looking to see who was at the door. "Chris…" he said then began closing the door, but it was stopped by Chris's foot.

"I want to talk to my daughter," Chris said.

"No," said Colin, "She doesn't need to talk to you right now." He looked behind him and saw that the others were still facing the other direction absorbed in the movie. He pushed Chris out the door and closed it behind him. "She's wallowing on her fucking birthday and that's your fault. I'm not going to let you go in there and make it worse. I know the concept is foreign to you, but I care about Rory and so does every person in that room. You're not going anywhere near her tonight."

"Of course I care about her," Chris defended, "She's my daughter. Who the hell do you think you are?"

"I'm the guy that's going to kick your ass if you make her cry again tonight. And there's two more guys in there who will do the same plus Lorelai who is undoubtedly the scariest of us all. You say you care about her? Then leave her alone tonight, and get the hell out of my apartment building," Colin responded.

"Fine," Chris said, "But don't think this is over. I'm going to talk to her eventually." He walked away without waiting for a response.

Colin sighed and ran his had through his hair. Luckily the pizza guy came right at that moment. Colin didn't want to have to explain why he didn't have a pizza when he went back in there. He paid for the pizza and walked back into the apartment.

"Jeez that took a long time," Rory said, "Was it a hot pizza girl?"

"Um, yeah," Colin responded, but only Rory was distracted enough to believe him. The others figured out it had to do with Chris. Rory, surprisingly, wasn't distracted by thoughts of her father. She was thinking about how good it felt to be in Finn's arms.

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	3. I Have a Father and You're Not Him

Disclaimer: I do not own Gilmore Girls and am glad that I don't (I could never manage the creative genius of my hero ASP). I do, however, enjoy borrowing the characters for my silliness

**Ch. 3- I Have a Father and You're Not Him**

Rory awoke to a feeling of comfort she had never before experienced. It took her a minute to realize where she was and why she felt that way, but then she noticed the arms holding her close to a solid chest, and she realized that she had fallen asleep in Finn's arms during _Pretty Woman_.

_Why does being in his arms make me feel like this?_ she asked herself. _It must just be that he's my best friend, and he was so there for me last night. I would feel the same if it were Logan or Colin._ A small voice in the back of her head was telling her that wasn't true, but she ignored it. She wasn't ready to deal with the other possibility yet. She knew Finn's reputation with women was well-earned, and she knew she couldn't handle having her heart broken by her best friend. She had too much to deal with right now.

She was relieved when a ringing cell phone interrupted her contemplation. She recognized it as her own and slowly extracted herself from the comfort of Finn's arms. She smiled affectionately as she tiptoed around Logan and Colin asleep on the floor. She knew how lucky she was to have friends like these three amazing guys. None of them would win a boyfriend of the year award, mostly because they had never really been boyfriends, but they were the most loyal friends she could have asked for.

She reached her phone just as it went to voicemail. She waited until it beeped that whoever had called had left a message and dialed her voicemail. Her phone told her she had twelve new messages.

"Hey, Rory, its Paris…" skip. Paris, skip. Chris, skip. Paris, skip. Paris, skip. Out of twelve messages, nine were from Paris, and three were from her father. _Clearly my father cares so much_, she thought sarcastically, _he can't even manage to call more times than his lover. _She rubbed her temples and sighed. She knew she would have to deal with them eventually, but it wouldn't be today and it certainly wouldn't be before coffee.

She turned around to head for the coffee maker and was surprised by Finn standing right behind her.

"You ok, love?" he asked gently.

She sighed and rested her head on his chest as his arms wrapped tightly around her. "I will be I, think. First I need coffee though."

She pulled away and continued her path towards the kitchen this time followed by Finn. "You know, love," he said, "You never opened presents yesterday."

"Yeah," she responded, "I guess I was a little distracted. Did you get me something good?"

Finn gave her a mock offended face and asked, "Would I get you anything bad? I'm hurt." He handed her a small box with an envelope on top.

She opened the envelope and laughed. "One hour with the amazing Finn teaching me how to drink? You're right. You wouldn't get me anything bad. Although I thought you'd already taught me."

"Ah, but now that you're 21 I need to teach you to drink with the professionals," he responded in his best sage-like voice.

She laughed as she opened the box. "Oh, Finn it's perfect," she said. It was a delicate silver charm bracelet with three charms already attached. One was a small number 21, one was a tiny silver can of Foster's, and the third was a little kangaroo. "Just so I remember you always Aussie boy?" she asked with a smile.

He grinned. "You've foiled my secret plan."

"Thanks Finn, and, just so you know, it's not likely I'll forget you anytime soon," she said kissing his cheek and turning to the coffee maker.

As the warm brown liquid began to fill the pot, the two could hear Lorelai stirring in the other room. Rory poured two cups and had one waiting as Lorelai entered the kitchen, her eyes not yet open.

"Oo, presents," Lorelai said when she finally managed to pry open her sleepy lids, "Are they for me?"

"No, stupid. I'm the birthday girl," Rory said sticking out her tongue.

"Yesterday," Lorelai said with a pout. Rory just raised her eyebrows at her mother telling her wordlessly that this was not an argument she was going to win. "Alright," Lorelai said, "I'll concede if you show me"

Rory held out her hand displaying the bracelet that now graced her delicate wrist. "Plus a coupon for drinking lessons," she said with a smile.

"You stole my gift," Lorelai said indignantly to Finn with a smile, "That's a mommy's job."

The three sat in the kitchen chatting good-naturedly each ignoring the elephant of a topic in the room. It was another hour before Logan and Colin woke up and entered the kitchen and the conversation.

As soon as the boys had entered the kitchen and were fully awake Rory opened her mouth to speak. "So, I just decided something," she said, "I'm not going to let this destroy my life. I'm not going to spend weeks wallowing in what he did. I've never really had a father in him, and this just solidifies that. I had my wallowing night and now I need to move on although I'll have to deal with Dad and Paris trying to contact me for a while."

"I think that's a great idea babe," Lorelai said, "But you know you can always come to me if you need to cry or rant."

Rory nodded and gave her mother a thankful smile. "I don't really want to live with Paris anymore. Do you guys think I could stay on your couch while a look for a place?" she asked looking at the guys.

"Of course," said Colin, "As long as you need to."

"Actually, maybe we could find a four bedroom place," Logan suggested, "We could all live together."

"You guys would move for me?" Rory asked, touched.

"Of course we would," Logan responded and Finn and Colin nodded their agreement.

"You guys are the best," Rory said pulling all three into a hug and kissing each on the cheek.

They decided that they would begin looking for four bedroom apartments and, until then, Rory would sleep on the couch. Lorelai had to head to the inn and Logan and Colin had to go to class.

"I should go start packing my stuff," Rory said nervously, "I don't have classes today so it's the best time to do it."

Finn squeezed her shoulder reassuringly and said, "I don't have anything important in my classes today. I was going to skip anyway. I'll come with you."

Rory looked at him thankfully and the two got ready and headed out the door. Rory didn't have any clothes but the ones she was wearing the night before so Finn leant to her a pair of sweats and a t-shirt in which she was swimming.

The two approached the door to the apartment with trepidation. Rory wasn't sure she could handle seeing both her father and Paris, but part of her hoped to get both confrontations out of the way.

"Oh, jeez," Rory said, covering her eyes as she walked in. Her father and Paris were making out on the couch, but broke away at the sound of her voice. "I so don't need to see that. Could you guys move that to the other room? I'm just packing my stuff so I'll be out of your way in a few hours." Her words were blasé, but Finn could hear her voice shaking, and he grabbed her hand and squeezed.

"Rory," Chris said jumping up from the couch, "I need to talk to you." Rory and Finn ignored him and walked into her room.

"You're moving?" Paris asked sounding surprised.

"You're surprised?" Rory asked incredulously, "Did you think I could keep living here after this?" Paris looked at her feet and didn't say anything.

"Rory, I'm sorry," Chris said, "But I'm not sorry for loving her."

"Oh, please," Rory said, "You're supposed to love me. You're supposed to want to see me on my birthday. You're not supposed to run around my apartment in your boxers and have sex with my roommate. That's not what a real father does. But I guess you aren't a real father, and you've never been one. That's ok, though. This is good because I finally realized that I don't need you. That it's not my fault when you don't show up. I didn't do anything wrong to make you not love me. But I'm not going to listen to you anymore. I'm not going to call you. You're not going to walk me down to aisle when I get married. I have a dad and you're not him."

Chris looked shocked at her words and took a step back. Finn grabbed Rory's hand and headed her towards her room. He could tell that she was about to break down and she wouldn't want her father or Paris to see that. He managed to get the door closed and locked before Rory broke down crying in his arms.

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	4. I Love Her Too Much to Tell Her

Disclaimer: Hang on, let me check my driver's license…nope, I'm not ASP.

**Ch. 4- I Love Her Too Much to Tell Her**

"So, how are you doing living with three boys?" Lorelai asked Rory as she was heading back to the guys' apartment after class, "Is it weird? We've never lived with boys before."

Rory laughed, "Surprisingly, it's not that weird at all, and I'm beginning to think the toilet seat thing is an urban legend. I've never seen the thing up."

"Ah, that's because those boys had Manners 101 starting from the womb, and had a fear instilled in them at an early age to avoid ungentlemanly behavior," Lorelai explained, "I bet if they were normal people you'd be lowering toilet seats left and right. But, seriously, no problems at all?"

"Nope…well, the couch isn't the most comfortable place to sleep. If we don't find a four bedroom soon I'm going to need back surgery to straighten me out. I'm not sleeping that well," Rory said emphasizing her point with a loud yawn.

"None of your gentleman friends offered up their bed to you?" Lorelai asked mock indignantly.

"Actually they all did, but I wouldn't let them. They're doing enough already," Rory said, "And Logan graciously offered to share his bed at the moment when all my pajamas had mysteriously disappeared."

"How kind of him," Lorelai said with a laugh.

Rory had reached the apartment by now and sighed when she noticed the blond sitting in the hallway outside the door. "Mom, I have to call you back. Paris is here."

"You ok, sweets?" Lorelai asked, concerned.

"I'll be fine," Rory said, "I'll call you later." She hung up the phone and looked at Paris without saying anything.

"Hey," Paris said quietly. Rory had never heard this tone in her voice. It was almost meek.

She sighed and unlocked the apartment door. "Come on in," she said. The two walked inside and sat awkwardly on the couch. Rory rubbed her forehead and sighed. "How long has it been going on?" Rory asked looking at Paris expectantly.

"A little bit less than a year," Paris whispered, barely audible.

Rory took a shaky breath. "How?"

"He came to see you one weekend," Paris began looking down avoiding Rory's penetrating gaze, "I guess he wanted to surprise you, but you had gone to Stars Hollow for the weekend. He looked so dejected that he had missed you. So I invited him in for a cup of coffee. I don't know…one thing led to another. He kissed me, and,"

"Ok," Rory interrupted, "Really don't need anymore details." She took a deep breath trying to digest this information. "How often does he come here?"

If possible, Paris's voice got even quieter. "Like every other week. He comes Friday nights."

Rory felt tears begin to prickle her eyes. Her father had managed to come to New Haven every other week for the past year, and she had seen him all of three times. "I always believed that he cared, but he wasn't able to show it," Rory said unable to hold her tears back, "I guess I was wrong. He wasn't too busy to see me. He didn't want to."

"No, Rory," Paris said touching her friend's shoulder.

"Don't you fucking defend him, Paris," Rory spat jerking her arm away. Paris cringed at her anger.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, "I can't believe I did this to the one person who puts up with my bull-shit and is willing to be friends with me. I was just so lonely. Jamie and I had just broken up, and I couldn't imagine another guy ever falling for me again. I never thought I deserved him or anyone else."

Rory looked away not wanting Paris to see the flash of sympathy on her face. Paris had gone to far this time for Rory to just forgive her. "Sometimes sorry doesn't matter Paris," Rory said, the tears falling faster, "It wasn't a one night mistake. You've been seeing him for a year." She forced herself to look at her. "I think you should go."

Paris just nodded and walked out the door. She glanced at Rory on her way out the door. Her friend was sitting back perfectly straight with tears streaming unabated down her flushed cheeks. Paris swallowed as it completely sunk in what she had done. She could only hope that Rory would someday forgive her, but, at that moment as she walked back to her apartment, the prospect seemed unlikely.

While Rory was in classes that day, the guys had been searching for apartments. They wanted to surprise her by having an apartment to move into by the end of the day. They searched all day and were about to give up and move into a three room apartment with one really big room and have two of the guys share when they found the perfect place. The place was fortuitously available right away even though it was a few months into the semester and they could move in right away.

After they finally found the place they went to the pub to get lunch. They knew Rory would still be in class so they didn't call her to join them. They were excited to surprise her when they got back to the apartment though.

"So, Finn," Colin asked after they had ordered lunch, "What's going on between you and our lovely reporter? Logan and I have noticed a sudden build up of sexual tension."

Finn sighed and banged his head on the table. "Is it that obvious that I love her? Can she tell? I don't want her to have to worry about this right now."

Logan and Colin looked at him incredulously. "Love?" asked Logan, "We just meant we've noticed this weird attraction between you two since her birthday. Just a vibe."

Finn's face flushed as he realized he had given away too much information. "Well," he said, "I guess I realized on her birthday that I love her. I'm sure that's all you're noticing. It's completely one-sided."

"I don't think so man," said Colin, "It's definitely coming from both directions. Haven't you noticed that she's always touching you or leaning on you?"

"She's upset," Finn said looking between the other two as though they were crazy, "She's been hugging you guys a lot too."

"Nope," said Logan, "Believe me it's different with us. Our Ace has definitely fallen, and we think you should go for it. Just don't screw it up."

Finn shook his head disbelievingly. "Why wouldn't she have said anything?" he asked.

"You haven't," Colin pointed out, "And it has to be you."

"Why?" Finn asked, "Rory's better at the whole relationship thing. She knows how it's supposed to go."

"Don't you get it?" Colin explained, "That's why it has to be you. She won't initiate anything because you don't have girlfriends and that's the only kind of relationship she has. She's hurting so badly right now, and she's not going to put her heart on the line for the hurt of a lifetime. You're one of the people she trusts most in the world as a friend, but she's terrified of what will happen to her heart if she gets involved with you."

"You just explained to me why there's no way in hell she'd ever date me," Finn said, "So why should I make a move on my feelings."

"Because only you can convince her that you won't hurt her," Logan responded, "Hell, you just told us you love her. You have to give it a shot."

They left the topic there for the rest of the evening knowing Finn would need time to contemplate what they had told him. By the end of the meal, he was determined to tell her how he felt and convince her to take a chance on me.

As they entered the apartment soon after they knew Rory finished classes, Logan called out, "Hey, Ace, we found an…" He stopped short when he saw her crying on the couch.

Finn immediately went to her and pulled her close. He was comforting her, but at the same time his mind was spinning. _What was I thinking earlier? She's right. I can't be a boyfriend. I'll only hurt her. I love her too much to do that. She can never know how I feel._

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AN- Sorry I got your hopes all up and what not. I just wanted to show that Finn isn't denying his feelings. He just isn't acting on them. Anywho, hope you liked the chapter.


	5. It's About Time

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or any of the characters portrayed in this story.

**Ch. 5- It's About Time**

Rory awoke the next morning with her eyes swollen and sticking shut and an enormous headache. The side effects of her unusual amount of crying lately were surprisingly similar to those of a hangover. Despite her pain she was more comfortable than she had woken up in weeks, and, upon prying open her eyes, she discovered the reason. Apparently, after falling asleep crying the night before, she had been deposited in Finn's bed.

_He's so sweet, _she thought, _He's seriously not helping me deny my feelings for him._ In the weeks since her birthday, she had become increasingly aware of the fact that she no longer saw Finn as just her best friend, but she was hesitant to act on these feelings.

She got out of bed, stretched and headed towards the kitchen hoping to find some aspirin to soothe her aching head. Her breathe caught in her throat as she passed the couch where Finn was sleeping. There was a blanket lying on the floor where he had obviously kicked it, and he was sprawled across the couch in only his boxers. He looked completely sexy and, at the same time, unthreatening with a sweet smile grazing his features.

Rory took a deep breath to calm her beating heart and headed towards the couch to tell Finn he could move to his bed. She felt bad that he had been forced to sleep on the couch.

"Finn," she said quietly and touched his arm trying to ignore the tingling she felt at their touch, "You can go to your bed."

Finn's eyes slowly blinked open and Rory stopped blinking as his sleepy eyes met hers. Instead of speaking he pulled her face to his and kissed her. She reacted without thinking and kissed him back sweetly. He pulled away and looked into her eyes and saw his own want mirrored there before sitting up and pulling her into a deeper kiss.

A half an hour later Logan stumbled unwittingly out of his room. The two were now making out on the couch, but they jumped apart at the sound of Logan's door opening. "Um, I'll just…" Logan said and headed back into his room smirking.

Rory and Finn sat on the couch staring at each other. "What was that?" Rory whispered touching Finn's arm as she was unwilling to break contact.

Finn gently brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm falling for you, love."

Rory smiled. "You didn't make a joke about how I didn't know what that was. Thank you."

"Seemed inappropriate," he responded kissing her gently.

"What do you want?" she asked. She was too far in to pretend this was just a mistake, but she also knew this would never work if it wasn't just the two of them.

"You," he said.

"Well, I gathered that," she said with a smirk, "I meant in what capacity."

"I want to be with you, Rory," he said, "I would never jeopardize our friendship if I just wanted you to be one of the many. I couldn't do that to you, and I couldn't handle seeing you with other guys."

Rory smiled and kissed him. "I want that too," she said, "But if we're going to do this we need to take this slowly. I couldn't handle it if we broke up and I lost not only you but Logan and Colin too. We have to promise to try our hardest to make sure there's no messy breakup. I need you three too much."

Finn pulled her into his arms and began playing with her hair. "You couldn't lose us, love. No matter what happens between us, you'll always be my best friend and Logan and Colin adore you. I really hope it never comes to this, but if we broke up, they would still be there for you. I promise."

Rory nodded and settled into Finn's arms. She couldn't believe how content she was after everything she had learned last night. "Thanks for taking care of me again last night," she said, "I feel so ridiculous. It's like we can't go through a day without you holding me while I cry."

"You're just going through a hard time," he soothed, "I don't mind. Do you want to tell me what brought on last night?"

Rory sighed and pulled Finn's arms tighter around herself. "I got back from class and Paris was here," she began, "She looked so pathetic, and I wanted to ask some questions so I let her come in. She told me it's been going on for a year and he comes here every other Friday. It just hurt that he could make time for her but, in 21 years, he never has for me."

"Are you ok?" he asked and kissed her cheek.

She smiled. "It's just a lot. I'll be ok eventually. It's early. You should be sleeping since the sun is out and everything."

"Only if you come with me," he said. The two went into his room and went back to sleep.

A few hours later Rory awoke to her ringing phone. She slid from Finn's grasp and smiled happily at his sleeping form before flipping open her phone.

"Hey mom," she answered.

"Hey, kiddo," Lorelai said, "You never called me back last night. Is everything ok?"

"Yeah, pretty much," she responded, "I'll tell you about it later. I have good things to talk about."

"Oh, spill," Lorelai said excitedly. She was glad Rory had something good finally. She had been so down since her birthday.

"Finn and I are going to start dating," Rory told her, her excitement evident.

"You and Finn?" Lorelai said, surprised, "When did this happen?"

"Well, I've kind of realized since my birthday that I liked him, but I didn't think he felt the same way, and you know the kind of relationship he usually had," Rory explained, "But this morning I woke up, and he had put me in his bed after I fell asleep crying last night. So, I went to wake him up on the couch and tell him to go to his own bed, and he kissed me. He says he's falling for me, mommy. He wants to be my boyfriend."

Lorelai smiled. She had always wondered if Rory was going to date one of her boys eventually, and Finn had always seemed like the most likely prospect. "You sound really happy, babe," she said, "You deserve it."

"I am Mom," Rory said, "I'm really happy." As she said this she felt Finn's arms wrap around her from behind, and he kissed her neck.

"I'm happy too, love," he whispered in her ear. She smiled and leaned into her.

"Rory?" Lorelai said, "I feel like I lost you kid. Are you there?"

"What? Oh, yeah, I'm here Mom," Rory said realizing she was still on the phone with her mother.

"Well, I'm assuming from your distraction that your boy is there. So, I'll let you go if you promise to tell Mommy what happened last night with Paris later. Plus details about what's going on with the hot Australian who is currently distracting you," Lorelai said.

"I promise," Rory responded trying not to giggle as Finn continued to kiss her neck, "I call you later."

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AN- And there it is. I decided I was bored with them dancing around each other so I figured what the hell, get them together. Anyway, I hope it didn't disappoint. Sorry its so short.


	6. Firsts

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls.

**Ch. 6- Firsts**

By the time Rory and Finn emerged from his room that day it was two o'clock. They walked into the common room holding hands and were confronted by Colin and Logan staring at them with matching smirks.

Rory blushed and said, "Hey guys," before burying her face in Finn's shoulder.

The guys all laughed. "It's about time," Colin said with a smile.

Finn guided Rory to the couch and they all sat down. He put his arm around her and kissed her temple. "No need to be embarrassed, love. They know I'm irresistible."

Rory elbowed him, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face.

"You should know Rory," Colin said with a serious look on his face, "If you hurt our Finn, we'll have to kick your ass." Rory laughed as she became more comfortable with the situation.

"Since you were busy being a drama queen when we got home yesterday," Logan teased, "We couldn't tell you that we found a four bedroom apartment. We can move in right away."

"Really?" she asked, excited, "Thank God. My back is killing me."

"Are you sure you want to move, love?" Finn asked wiggling his eyebrows, "I'm perfectly willing to share my bed with you."

"Finn," Rory said with a glare, "We're taking this slow, remember? That means we have our own bedrooms."

"I know, love," Finn reassured, "I was kidding."

The four made a plan to move the next day. They arranged for movers to come and spent the rest of the evening packing. Since Rory hadn't completely unpacked after moving into the guys' apartment, she finished quickly and helped Finn pack up his bedroom.

She was packing up his clothes when she felt his arms come around her, and he began kissing her neck. She turned around and wrapped her arms around his neck. She began pushing him backwards until he fell back onto his bed. She knew they were moving towards this step quickly, but she had never felt so safe and trusting with a man. Despite her initial reservations about admitting her feelings to Finn, she was sure he would never intentionally hurt her.

An hour later Rory was laying securely in Finn's arms. "Does this make me slutty?" Rory asked snuggling closer so Finn would know she didn't regret taking this step, "I mean we haven't actually been on a date."

"Yes," he whispered as he nipped her ear, "You're a very naughty girl."

"Hey," Rory said indignantly.

"Relax, love," Finn said, "We may haven't have been on a date, but we've known each other for years. No one in their right mind would call _you_ slutty. _Me_ however…"

Rory laughed and pulled away putting on her underwear and Finn's shirt.

"Oh, no you don't," Finn said grabbing her arm and pulling her back.

"Finn!" Rory giggled as he began kissing her neck again, "We have to pack so we can move tomorrow." She tried to pull away, but Finn wouldn't let her go.

Finn continued kissing her and began to run his hands under the shirt she had just put on.

"I guess we can pack later," Rory mumbled contentedly as his lips found hers.

Rory was yawning as she exited Finn's room early the next afternoon in search of coffee. She and Finn hadn't partaken in much sleep the night before. She was shocked that they had managed at some point to finish his packing.

Colin and Logan watched her, amused, as she poured herself coffee, grabbed a pop tart, and sat down next to them at the table. She finally looked at them after inhaling a quarter of her coffee and noticed the amusement in their eyes.

"What?" she asked.

"You two need a sound proof room miss we're taking it slow," Colin teased.

Rory flushed bright red and groaned. "In my defense I meant emotionally," Rory said before blushing even deeper at how ridiculous that sounded.

"Relax, Ace," Logan trying in vain to hide his smirk, "No one here is judging you. We're just impressed with you're stamina."

"Oh, God," Rory said, and she got up and went back into Finn's room. She sat on the bed and sighed waking Finn from his slumber.

"Ror?" he asked sleepily, "Is something wrong?"

"They heard us," she said, "All night long, they heard us."

Finn grinned. "Well you were very vocal, love," he teased, "And, as I recall, the all night long part was your doing too."

Rory glared but was unable to maintain it as Finn pulled her onto the bed and held her close.

"You're too self-conscious," he said as he kissed her temple. "So, I was thinking," he continued.

"You just woke up, when were you thinking?" Rory asked.

"I'm a multi-tasker," he supplied, "Anyway, I was thinking about how you said we haven't been on a date, and I was hoping to rectify that."

"Oh, yeah?" she asked with a smile, "What did you have in mind?"

"Since the movers will be here soon and will be working all afternoon, I thought we could spend the afternoon with a little mini-golf and then have a fabulously romantic dinner before a long night of passionate sex," he said.

Rory laughed and said, "That sounds perfect. But mini-golf?"

"Well, I've never played," he explained, "And I figured it's sufficiently lacking in physical exertion to avoid violating the Gilmore code."

"Yes, Gilmore's are allowed to play mini-golf," she said, "However, if we are to partake in this date, we have to get out of bed."

"Well I suppose we can manage that," Finn teased. He rolled out of bed and startled her by throwing her over his shoulder and carrying her to the shower winking at Logan and Colin as he passed them.

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AN- Ok, I know its short, but I had a really hard time with this chapter. So don't be shy if you think it sucks. Let me know what you think, good or bad.


	7. Apologies and Explanations

Disclaimer: Addicted to does not equal own. Therefore, I do not own Gilmore Girls even though I am addicted to it.

AN- I got a comment that Rory and Finn had sex too quickly. I'm sorry if I offended anyone, but I do think that Rory would do that. Look at how quickly she had sex with Logan, and she hadn't known him for that long. I equate Rory and Finn having sex in this story to Lorelai and Luke having sex on their first date. Anyway, I am sorry if anyone was offended, but I'm not going to change the story.

**Ch. 7- Apologies and Explanations**

Rory woke up in her bed in the new apartment two weeks later. She felt the weight of Finn's arm draped across her chess and smiled happily. To other people it seemed silly that they had moved when she had Finn hadn't spent a night in separate beds, but Rory was glad they had separate spaces. It gave her someplace to go by herself to study and be alone.

She grinned as she felt Finn stir. "You awake, love?" he mumbled sleepily.

"Yeah," she responded, "I have to get up. I'm going to the Hollow today. I promised Lane some girl time since I haven't seen her that much since by birthday and even less since we got together."

Finn nodded. "The guys and I are having a poker night," he said, "Are you sleeping in Stars Hollow?"

"Yup," she said, "Why? Are you going to miss me?"

"Of course," he said and kissed her.

"I'll miss you too," she said pulling away and getting out of bed. Finn groaned and grabbed her wrist. "Oh, no you don't," she said pulling her hand away, "I have to get ready." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and headed towards the shower.

That afternoon Rory was hanging out with her mom at Luke's eating lunch and waiting for Lane to get off work. She felt like her life was finally getting back on track. It was weird adjusting to not seeing or living with Paris, and she still felt sad when she thought about her dad, but the good things in her life were outweighing the bad.

"So how's your boy?" Lorelai asked with a grin, "Is he treating you right or do Luke and I need to open up a can of whoop ass."

Rory's whole face lit up at the mention of Finn. "He's amazing," she said, "Everything is so great. I was a little worried that it would be weird to already be living together at the beginning of the relationship. But it's Finn, so it's not."

"That's great sweetie," Lorelai said, "You deserve to be happy."

"You're not giving details on your hunky accented Australian without me are you?" Lane asked as she came up to the table refilling their coffee cups.

Rory laughed. "No, I promise," she reassured her friend, "We're just discussing my happiness."

"Besides," Lorelai said, "I'm the mommy. I may be cool, but I'm not sure I want details."

Rory rolled her eyes. "Sure, but when she wants to tell me about _her_ sex life it's not at all weird," Rory said.

"I'm the mommy," Lorelai said as if that explained everything.

"Well, I'm off in fifteen minutes," Lane said, "Save details until then, and I really didn't mean details about your sex life despite the fact that I _do _have to live vicariously in that area. Especially since Dave and I are still doing the long distance thing."

"How is that going?" Rory asked her friend sympathetically. When Dave went to college the two had decided to try and make a long distance relationship work, and, although it had been hard, they had managed to maintain their relationship for the past three years.

Lane shrugged but gave a happy smile. "I miss him," she said, "But I love him so it's worth it. He'll be home soon for Christmas. Oh, Taylor. I should go and not make Luke serve him. Like ten minutes now until I'm off."

Rory smiled. She felt like everyone in her life was really happy. She couldn't have imagined on her birthday that she would already be this happy again.

"Rory," a nervous voice said behind her.

She turned around and sighed. "What do you want dad?"

"Can I talk to you?" he asked.

Rory shrugged her shoulder. "I guess," she said and stood up, "Let's go to the gazebo and talk where we don't have an audience." The entire diner had gone silent when they noticed Chris enter. Patty and Babette hadn't managed to discern the whole story, but the entire town knew Chris had done something unforgivable to Rory.

"Do you want me to come with you, Ror?" Lorelai asked, concerned for her daughter.

"I'll be fine," Rory responded. She knew she needed to confront her father on her own, and she was now at a point where she could handle her emotions.

The two walked in silence and sat down in the gazebo.

"So," Rory said after nothing had been said for a few minutes, "What did you want to say?"

"I just…I'm sorry, Rory," he said looking at his hands, "I don't want to lose our relationship. You're my daughter."

"We've never really had a relationship," Rory said, "This just proves that. It's not just that you had sex with her. It's not even just about my birthday. Do you know how much it hurts that you were in New Haven, at my apartment every other week for a year when I only saw you three times?"

"I'm sorry," Chris repeated.

"Why did you even make plans with me on my birthday?" Rory asked. It was a question that had been bothering her since she learned how long the relationship had been going on. "It's not like I would have noticed if you hadn't wanted to spend it with me. I've never seen you on my birthday before. You could have just made plans with Paris during my party. You didn't have to break my heart like that."

Chris looked at his feet. "I meant to go to that dinner," he said, "But I was in New Haven, and my car just steered itself to your dorm even though I knew we were meeting at the restaurant. It just felt so weird being in town and not seeing her. I can't even tell you how much I regret doing this to you."

"It doesn't matter how much you regret it," Rory said, "This isn't even about whether I can forgive you or not which I'm not sure if I can. This is about the fact that I realized that I can't mean that much to you. If I did I would have seen you more often."

"Rory, please," Chris begged, "You mean everything to me. You and Gigi are so important. Can you please just let me try to make this up to you? I just want a relationship with you."

"I don't know if I can do that, Chris," Rory said quietly making him cringe at the use of his name, "I just don't know. I certainly can't do that now. You have to give me some space. Maybe someday we can start over, but I can't do it right now."

Chris nodded sadly. He knew he had messed up pretty badly.

"I also wanted to talk to you about Paris," Chris said.

Rory looked at him incredulously. "You're talking to me about Paris?" she asked, "Are you serious?"

"She really misses you, Rory," he said, "She's so sad. You know she doesn't have many friends."

"I'm not talking to you about Paris," Rory said, "I'm not talking to you at all anymore. I listened to what you had to say and said what I had to say. So, goodbye Christopher."

Chris watched his daughter walk away from him, and he knew he had no one to blame but himself.

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AN- I have two questions. First, should I have Rory forgive Chris eventually? I know what I'm doing with her and Paris, but I'm not sure about Chris. It wouldn't be total forgiveness. It would be them starting to rebuild a relationship at the very end. Second, should I have Chris and Paris stay together? Let me know what you think and why on each thing. Thanks.

Author's rant- I am so depressed by tonight's episode. They can't have Logan and Rory break up forever. He's so pretty. I also have mixed feelings about Lane's engagement. It was really sweet how happy she was, but he was really a jerk with his jealousy and ruining their big break. That's why I put the Dave and Lane thing is because Dave was way better than Zach. Anyway…end rant now.


	8. Love n'Stuff

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls or the characters.

AN- Yay, more than 100 reviews. I adore you all…almost as much as I adore the Limo Boys. That's high praise. Anywho, thanks a boodle.

**Ch. 8- Love n'Stuff**

Rory wasn't sure how to feel as she was walking from the gazebo to the diner. This was the first time she hadn't felt the urge to cry after a confrontation with her father. She felt almost numb when she thought about Christopher.

She entered the diner and was surprised to see her mother talking on her cell phone.

She turned to Lane who was sitting at the table having finished her shift. "Why is she on my phone, and who is she talking to?" she asked.

"Your phone was ringing and Lorelai answered it because she saw it was Finn, and she thought you might need him," Lane explained.

Rory rolled her eyes and grabbed the phone from Lorelai. "I'm fine, Finn," she said into the phone, "Go back to you boys' day."

"Are you sure, love?" Finn asked, the concern evident in his voice, "Because I can come to Stars Hollow if you need me. I don't need to be here. We play poker all the time."

"I'm sure," Rory said, "I'm ok. You need to hang out with the guys and I need to spend some time with Lane and my mom. You can give me a hug when I get back."

"I'll give you more than a hug," Finn said, and Rory could practically see his leer.

"Thanks for worrying though," Rory said ignoring his previous comment, "I love you." As soon as she said it, Rory covered her mouth. She hadn't said that to him before. She had just realized that she felt it.

"What did you say, Rory?" Finn asked quietly, and Rory could almost detect a hint of hopefulness in his voice.

She took a deep breath. "I said I love you."

"That's fantastic," Finn exclaimed making Rory laugh, "I love you, too."

Rory couldn't keep the smile from her face. "I'll see you tomorrow," she said, "Don't do anything to crazy tonight."

"No promises," Finn teased, "Bye."

Rory hung up and looked at the two women sitting with her who were looking at her expectantly.

"When did the love happen?" Lane asked, happy for her friend.

"Just now," Rory said smiling bigger, "That was the first time we've said it. I was waiting for the perfect time to tell him, but it just came out."

Lane squealed and hugged her friend.

"Come on now," Lorelai said, "The mamma wants a little sugar too." Rory laughed and pulled her mother into the hug.

"Aw, jeez," Luke said as he entered the diner, "What's with the hugging?"

"My baby's in love!" Lorelai exclaimed as the three women pulled apart.

"Love, huh?" Luke asked, "Well, I guess I need to have a talk with this guy."

"Luke," Rory said, "It's Finn. You know Finn. You _like_ Finn."

"Yes," Luke said, "I do. But now that you love him, I have to tell him what happens if he hurts you."

Rory just shook her head knowing there was no way to talk Luke out of this. She didn't really want to either. It made her feel like, no matter what happened with Christopher, she would always have a dad.

She got up and kissed Luke on the cheek. "Thanks, Luke," she said making him blush.

"What was that for?" he asked.

"For being a great dad," Rory responded, "I just wanted you to know that all this crap with Chris has made me realize that I _have_ had a dad for most of my life. You're my dad even if my DNA is from Chris."

Luke blushed even deeper and gave her an awkward hug before heading towards the kitchen.

Lorelai smiled at her daughter. "That was really nice of you to tell him, hon," she said, glad that her daughter loved Luke as much as she did.

Rory just shrugged. "It was the truth," she said.

The next afternoon Rory tumbled into the apartment after struggling with the lock while balancing her bags and a large cup of coffee. She swore under her breath as she struggled to keep a grip on her coffee. She could sense she was about to lose it when a hand reached out and grabbed the cup.

"I give that performance a ten," Finn joked with her.

Rory dropped her bags and flung her arms around Finn's neck. "If I didn't love you already, I would love you for being the savior of my beloved coffee."

Finn grinned and kissed her. "I missed you," he whispered against her lips.

Rory grinned. "I know," she said, "A day is too long." She kissed him again.

Rory grabbed her coffee and headed towards the couch after bringing her bags into her room. She sat down next to Finn and leaned into him. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed the top of her head.

"So how was your evening," she asked snuggling closer, "Did you win?"

He laughed. "I never win," he said with a shake of his head, "They get me all liquored up and there goes my poker face."

Rory raised her eyebrows at him. "It's their fault you get all liquored up?" she asked skeptically.

"Well," he said, "I'm not one to place blame. Anyway, enough about me. How are you?"

Rory rolled her eyes. "Way to change the subject Finn, but I'm fine."

Finn looked at her seriously. "Really, how are you?" he asked, "What happened with your dad?"

She sighed. "Nothing, really," she said, "He just wanted to apologize. Said he didn't want to lose our relationship."

"What did you say?" Finn asked pulling her a little closer.

"I said that we never had a relationship, and I wasn't sure if we ever could," she said, "I don't need him to be my father. I have my mom and Luke and that's more than enough. Chris may have never been there for me, but I have been more than blessed with great family and friends." She looked at him meaningfully letting him know that he was a big part of what she was talking about.

"As long as you're ok," Finn said. Rory just smiled and kissed him. She got up from the couch and, taking his hand, led him to her bedroom.

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	9. The Evils of Alcohol and a Lightweight

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls…yada yada yada.

AN- I'm an evil non-updater. Finals. Actually, I still have finals, but I'm a horrible procrastinator.

**Ch. 9- The Evils of Alcohol and a Lightweight**

Rory and Finn were sitting in the living room on the couch watching TV when her phone rang. Rory looked at the caller ID of her ringing cell phone, opened it, and immediately hung up.

"Your dad?" Finn asked sympathetically. She shook her head. "Paris?" he tried again, and she nodded. "Do you think you'll ever forgive her?" he questioned.

Rory shrugged. "I don't know," she said with a sigh, "How do you forgive someone for this? How could I trust her again? But it's Paris. She's never been that great at being a friend. She doesn't know how. I just have competing images in my head. I picture her coming into the common room dressed in nothing but his shirt, and I know I can never forgive her. But then I picture how pathetic she looked when she was talking about thinking no one would love her again after Jamie, and I think… I don't know what I think…It's Paris."

Rory groaned and dramatically lay down with her head on Finn's lap. Finn absent mindedly began playing with her hair feeling guilty for asking. He decided she needed to get out, have fun, and think about anything but her father and Paris.

"Let's go meet Colin and Logan at the pub," he said, "You need a distraction."

Rory was laughing as the two entered the pub holding hands. Finn had the ability to get her mind off anything and get her completely absorbed in whatever topic he felt like discussing at the moment. It was this ability that made Rory ban him from her presence during midterms and finals.

Rory couldn't keep the smirk from her face when she noticed Colin's drink as she and Finn approached his and Logan's table.

"Colin," she said with a smirk, "Your drink is pink."

"It's margarita madness day," Colin explained.

"But Logan's margarita is the normal lime color," Rory said trying to hold in her laugh.

"I like the strawberry ones better," Colin pouted. He had obviously already consumed a few margaritas.

Rory rolled her eyes as she sat at the table and Finn ordered them both a margarita.

"Doyle asked about you today, Ace," Logan said, "He said that he doesn't care if your articles are still on time and good, you better come into the YDN office soon, and he doesn't care who you're avoiding or why."

"Why were _you _at the YDN office, Logan?" she asked in an attempt to avoid the real topic.

"Oh, I wasn't," Logan assured her, "He caught me at the coffee cart. I think he might have been looking for you there and decided I was good enough to carry a message…. Hey now, don't change the subject."

She sighed. "Alright," she conceded, "I'll go in tomorrow. I wouldn't want you to have to deal with Doyle again. I'm going to have to see her sooner or later, right?"

"Uh, love. I think it might be sooner than you think," Finn said gesturing towards the blonde stumbling their way.

"Great," Rory mumbled, "She's drunk."

"Rorelai!" Paris exclaimed as she finally reached their table, "I haven't seen you in forever. Why haven't I seen you in forever?"

Rory sighed. "We're not talking about this when you're drunk, Paris," she said as she reached out to steady Paris as she almost fell over.

"Oh, that's right," Paris said, "I was a horrible horrible person, and I fell in love." Rory just glared at her. "No, that's not right," Paris continued as her face formed an expression of deep concentration, "I fucked your dad on your birthday. That's it right?"

"Paris, just stop," Rory said, "You're drunk. You don't want to be talking to me right now."

Paris opened her mouth to say something, but she immediately closed her mouth as she turned green. Rory groaned as she grabbed Paris's hand and dragged her to the bathroom before she threw up everywhere. She glared at the back of Paris's head as she held her hair back as she kneeled in the stall throwing up.

When she seemed to be done, Rory helped her stand and steadied her as they walked back into the pub.

"Are you here with anyone Paris?" Rory asked hoping there was someone else who could walk Paris back to her apartment. Paris just shook her head forlornly. She had yet to speak since she got sick. Rory sighed and headed towards the guys.

"I'm going to take her home," Rory said, "I may not be able to forgive her, but I don't want her to get killed or raped trying to get home in this state."

"I'll help," Finn said, and the three began the walk to Paris's apartment made longer by the fact that Paris could hardly walk. Finn ended up carrying her for the final third of the walk.

When they finally entered the apartment, Rory could tell that Paris needed to throw up again. They helped her to the bathroom, and Rory sat next to her as she held her hair back once again.

When the contents of her stomach seemed to have been emptied into the toilet, Paris lay on the floor of the bathroom crying. "I'm sorry, Rory," she cried, "I'm so sorry." She kept apologizing over and over, but Rory just sat there until she passed out.

Rory looked up at Finn. "Do you think she's done throwing up?" she asked. Finn nodded. "Then, could you carry her to her bed?" she requested.

As Finn lifted the petite blonde and carried her into her room, Rory went to the refrigerator and got a bottle of water to place on the soon-to-be-hung-over girl's night stand.

They closed the door behind them as they left her room. Rory sighed and looked at Finn. "I think I should stay the night just in case. She drank a lot. I don't think she should be alone tonight. You should go home. I'll call you in the morning."

"Nope," Finn stated, "If you're staying, I'm stating. I don't like my bed when you're not in it."

Rory nodded knowing it would be futile to argue with him, and she really did want him to stay. She glanced into her old room, and, upon noting it was still completely empty, let Finn to the couch. The two curled up together and fell fast asleep without saying another word.

Rory awoke the next day around ten. She extracted herself from Finn's embrace and went to check on Paris. She was sitting up slightly and finishing off the water bottle Rory had left for her. When she noticed Rory standing there she started to speak.

"No, Paris," Rory interrupted, "This doesn't mean anything. We're not friends again. I just didn't think even you should die of alcohol poisoning or get raped so I took care of you. That's it."

Rory turned and walked out of the room to wake up Finn and leave.

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AN- Alright, I'm having problems continuing this fic. I'm really bad at writing extended stories. So the way I see it, I have three options.

1) Wrap it up in the next two or three chapters

2) Try and drag out the Paris/Chris sadness drama for a while longer (I'm worried it will get boring though)

3) Create some Rory/Finn drama with an ultimately happy ending.

Let me know what you think would be best for the story. I'm open to other suggestions too, but I do know how I want to end it so I won't take plot ideas that don't fit with my ending.


	10. Forever

Disclaimer: You know the drill. Ownership of Gilmore Girls is not mine.

AN- I feel all floopy-headed right now, and I really should go to sleep as I'm becoming nocturnal and that won't be a good thing next week when classes start again. I wanted to write this chapter though so I'm not going to sleep. Hope you like it.

**Ch. 10- Forever**

In the next few months Rory got on with her life. She slowly thought of her father and Paris less, particularly as the regular calls from both became less frequent and, ultimately, nonexistent. She discovered her life wasn't that different without them in it. Her father's absence barely made a dent in her routine, and, while Paris had been a large part of her life, it appeared she was not a crucial part.

Occasionally Rory would feel the twinge of betrayal when she thought about either Chris or Paris, but she had too much good in her life to let it bother her too much. The day Paris came into the YDN with a large diamond ring on her left ring finger, Rory felt like she couldn't breathe for a few moments, but she eventually came to the decision that it didn't really matter. Whether they were together or not, they weren't part of her life. She was usually able to ignore Paris's presence in the news room.

Things with Finn were going great. They grew closer and had reached a point where they were slightly nauseating to their friends. They were approaching their six month anniversary, and, in the week and a half before the day, Rory had noticed Finn had the tendency to stop what he was doing as she entered the room, and he tried to cover up more than one phone conversation which she walked in on. She knew he was planning something special for her.

Friday, the day before their anniversary, Rory entered the apartment after her last class and sat down close to Finn on the couch. "Hey," she said, leaning into him and closing her eyes. It had been a long week, and she was glad it was finally over.

He pulled her close and began rubbing her obviously tense neck. "You have any plans for tomorrow, love?" Finn asked tentatively. He was all of a sudden nervous that she didn't recall the significance of the next day.

Rory smiled slyly to herself. "Actually," she said, "I thought I'd go to the hollow. I have a mountain of laundry that I'd love to do for free, and it's always nice to do some distraction free studying."

Finn stopped rubbing as she began speaking, and his face got a panicked look, but by the end of her statement he had relaxed.

"It's not nice to tease," he said, "And you should try to be more convincing. Everyone knows that any sort of proximity to the second Lorelai promises more distractions than even I can offer."

"That is true," Rory said with a smile, "Although your distractions are slightly more fun. You can't tell her that though. She thinks no one can possibly be more fun than she is."

"Damn," he said sarcastically, "And I so hoped I could tell your mother all about our sex life."

"What did you have in mind for tomorrow, boyfriend of six months?" Rory asked.

"That's a surprise," he said, "But be ready to leave by five. We're going to New York."

Rory opened her mouth to ask a question, but Finn silenced her with a kiss. It was a few minutes before they pulled apart, each with slightly labored breathing. "That's all I'm telling you," he said before kissing her again.

Rory woke up the next morning and rolled over. She was disappointed to find that Finn wasn't in bed. She glanced at the clock. _Why is Finn awake and out of bed at 10 o'clock in the morning?_ she thought. She was about to get out of bed and investigate when the door opened and Finn entered with a tray of breakfast food and coffee.

He joined her on the bed and placed the tray over their laps. "Happy anniversary," Finn said with a grin.

"This is amazing," Rory said, and she took a sip of the coffee. Her eyes widened and she leaned over and kissed Finn deeply. "This is from Luke's," she said, "All of it."

"Well, my cooking would have been more like a punishment than a surprise," he explained, "It would have been a shame if I killed you after our relationship lasted this long."

Rory just smiled and kissed him again before they began eating. Apparently it was going to be an entire day of anniversary surprises.

When they finished eating Finn put the tray on the floor and pulled Rory into his arms. She rolled on top of him and began kissing him deeply and inching his shirt over his head.

Afterwards, Rory lay contentedly in Finn's arms. "I love you, Finn," she said, kissing his chest.

He pulled her even closer to him and kissed the top of her head. "I love you too," he whispered into her hair.

That evening Rory was getting ready in her room. She didn't know what they were doing that evening, but she wanted to take his breath away. At exactly five o'clock there was a knock on her bedroom door.

"Just a minute," she called out.

She put the finishing touches on her makeup and surveyed herself in the mirror. Her strapless black dress fell just below her knees and hugged her curves subtly and sexily. Her hair fell in waves over her shoulders and her makeup accented her features tastefully. She nodded in satisfaction at her appearance and went to open the door.

She couldn't take her eyes off of him. His suit fit him perfectly and his face wore a look of love and awe as he stared back at her.

"You're beautiful," he whispered.

She grinned. "Mission accomplished, then." She grabbed his hand and the two headed out the door and towards a limo Finn had hired for the evening.

A few hours later the two exited the limo and headed through the lobby of a luxurious apartment building towards the elevator. They were having a hard time keeping their hands from each other, something that wasn't helped by the champagne they had consumed in the limo.

They exited the elevator and entered what was clearly the penthouse apartment. Rory's breath caught in her throat at the set up in front of her. An elegant table was set up next to the large windows showing an exceptional view. The table was covered with a cream table cloth and had a beautiful set up of elegant china and long tapered white candles.

"This is perfect, Finn," she said, giving him a soft kiss before heading towards the table.

"I'm glad you like it," Finn said.

Dinner was perfect. The food was deliciously greasy and unhealthy. There wasn't a speck of green on the table. When it was over and the plates were cleared by the staff hired for the night and Rory gave Finn his present, which was a rare copy of Finn's favorite band's first album on vinyl, Finn pulled out a small jewelry box and placed it on the table.

"Oo, I love presents," Rory said happily.

Rory opened the box and gasped. Inside was a beautiful silver charm to go on the bracelet he had gotten her for her birthday which she never took off. It was a small heart with the word 'forever' engraved upon it. The 'o' was a tiny diamond.

"I know we haven't been together for very long, Rory," he said quietly, "But I feel like I didn't start living until we got together. I'm in love with you, and I just wanted you to know that I want to be with you forever. I'm not proposing. I know it's way too soon for that, but these six months have been the best of my life, and I want to promise you that I'll spend the rest of it with you."

Rory's eyes became a little watery, and she leaned in and kissed Finn. "I want to spend the rest of my life with you, too," she said, "You're the best thing that ever happened to me. I don't know if I could have survived everything that happened with my dad and Paris if I hadn't had you."

Rory crawled onto Finn's lap and began kissing his neck. He stood up and carried her to the bed. They moved slowly and deliberately, making love with a passion and depth they had never had before. Rory knew she was going to spend the rest of her life loving this man.

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AN- Ok, it was kind of cliché and cheesy, but I liked it. I decided I'm wrapping up the story. I don't think I can keep going without destroying it. There's going to be an epilogue to tie up loose ends, but that's it. Thanks for the review. You rock my socks. Virtual hugs and kisses in exchange for reviews.


	11. Drama Queen

Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls. I am very much addicted though.

**Epilogue- Drama Queen**

Christopher Hayden sat at his dining room table opening his mail. His breath caught in his throat as he pulled a simple but pretty wedding invitation out of an envelope. It was addressed to Christopher Hayden and guest.

_You're invited to the wedding of Lorelai Leigh Gilmore and Finnegan James Morgan._

He was still staring at it an hour later when Paris came home from med school. She sat down beside him, worried that he hadn't greeted her. She touched his arm and he finally looked up. He pushed the invitation in front of her, and her eyes widened in surprise when she saw what it was.

"I don't know whether to be grateful or hurt," he whispered, "She's my daughter, and I found out about her wedding from the invitation?"

"I'm sorry babe," Paris said, putting her hand on her husband's arm, "But, it's not like you expected to walk her down the aisle. She hasn't spoken to us in five years."

"I know," he said, "I should be glad she invited me at all. It just hurts. I know I fucked up. I was a bad father, but it hurts that she cut me completely out of her life."

"I know," Paris said, "I miss her too. She was the best friend I've ever had. At least you got an official invite. She knew we were getting married, and still she put 'and guest.'"

"Maybe she's reaching out," Chris said, "Maybe that's what this means." Paris smiled, but she doubted it.

"Daddy! Paris!" an eight year old Gigi yelled as she ran into the house, coming home from a play-date, "Katie's mommy says I can go to Chuck E Cheese with them if you say yes. Can I?"

"Sure, princess," Chris said. She squealed and ran out the door again, and, as he watched her go, Chris vowed for probably the hundredth time not to mess up being her dad.

Rory stood in front of the mirror in her dressing room in the Dragonfly Inn. Much to Emily's dismay, Rory had insisted on a small wedding in her mother's inn. She had allowed Emily to help with the planning only after she promised to let Rory and Finn make all final decisions.

She smoothed the front of her simple strapless white dress that her mother made for her with slightly shaking hands. She took a few deep breaths and turned around. She was ready.

Lane squealed and hugged her best friend. "You're beautiful, Rory," she said, "He's not going to know what hit him."

Rory grinned, her face lighting up at the thought of Finn. She hadn't seen him since early the day before, and she missed him.

"Well, lets get this show on the road," Rory said, "I wanna see my man."

"Now, Rory," Lorelai said, "You need to be patient. You'll see him soon. The bride's gotta make an entrance." Rory glared playfully at her mother.

There was a knock on the door, and Luke's voice said, "Are you guys ready?"

Lorelai opened the door and let Luke in. "Is it time?" Rory asked with excitement and a hint of nervousness. Luke nodded and the three girls headed into the hallway to prepare to make their entrance.

Rory hooked her arm through Luke's and stood behind her mother and Lane, waiting. She smiled up at Luke and said, "Thanks for doing this, Luke. I know how much you hate losing the flannel."

Luke smiled at the woman who he loved as a daughter and had watched grow up. "I'm honored that you asked me," he said shyly.

"Of course I did," she stated, kissing him on the cheek, "You're my dad."

They didn't say anything else while they waited for the wedding march to announce her entrance. They stood in comfortable silence. Rory fingered the charm bracelet adorning her wrist. Over the past five years it had filled with charms, each presented to her by Finn on a special occasion, each with a special meaning all its own. Rory had insisted on wearing it that day despite Emily's scathing commentary on the tackiness of charm bracelets.

Rory sucked in a breath as the music changed and she recognized her cue to make her entrance. She gave Luke one last smile before the two headed down the aisle.

The moment Finn came into view their eyes locked and nothing else mattered. Ever nerve she may have had was gone because nothing felt more right than walking towards this man.

When she finally reached him, Luke kissed her cheek and left her side. She reached out and grabbed on to Finn's hand as they stood in front of the justice of the peace. They had decided not to say their own vows, wanting to repeat the same words that billions of married couples before them had said. She couldn't concentrate on anything but his startling green eyes, and she was surprised that she managed to say the right things at the right time.

She was only broken from her trance when she heard the words, "You may now kiss the bride." Finn grabbed her, dipped her dramatically, and kissed her passionately.

She rolled her eyes when they broke apart. "You're such a drama queen," she said with a grin, her eyes sparkling happily.

"Maybe," Finn said, kissing her again, "But I'm your drama queen."

"Yeah," she said, wrapping her arm around his waist as they headed outside to the large tent where the reception was being held.

An hour into the reception, Rory was standing with Lane, chatting and laughing, when her father and Paris approached her.

"Hey," Christopher said as they walked up to the happy couple, "Congratulations."

"Thank you, Christopher. Paris," she said.

Christopher was going to say something else but was interrupted by a desperate Logan running up and grabbing Rory's hand. "Patty's after me," he said, panicked, "You have to dance with me."

Rory laughed and was dragged away to dance without a backwards glance to Chris or Paris. Watching her go, Chris realized Rory had completely moved on. She wasn't even mad anymore; she didn't have the emotion to hate him. She was indifferent and that hurt more than anything. He and Paris left then. He would return to the daughter he hadn't yet let down and hope never to lose her.

Later that evening, Rory was wrapped in Finn's arms dancing to their song having never felt so content. "I love you," she said cuddling closer in his arms. The two held each other close until the song was over.

"I think it's time to head to our room," Finn said, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Rory laughed. "I concur," she said. They were spending the night in the Dragonfly before leaving tomorrow on their honeymoon. They quickly said their good byes and headed towards the bungalow outside the inn that was the honeymoon suite. When they were about halfway there, Finn scooped Rory into his arms and threw her over her shoulder and took off running. She was laughing as they disappeared through the door and closed it behind them.

THE END

AN- Aw, it's over. I hope you all liked it and weren't disappointed with how I handled the Chris and Paris situation. Let me know what you think please. PDLD lovers have no fear, I have another in the works that I'm really psyched to write. So, yay. I love my reviewers. You guys are hot.


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